


HR Wells x Reader - Hidden Among The Fairy Lights

by Austarus



Category: The Flash (TV 2014), The Flash - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Cuddling, F/M, Fluff, Smooching, slow-burn, so much pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:42:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24392968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Austarus/pseuds/Austarus
Summary: “You were named *Entrepreneur of the Decade* by “Tech Magazine”?” Cisco read off the monitor, arms folded as he maintained a look of doubt on his features. Iris sat on a chair; one leg crossed over the other as she rested her head against the palm of her hand. Barry stood right behind where his love sat, glancing from the screen back to the Wells doppelganger and crossed his arms like his best friend. Caitlin leaned against the main Cortex desk with both hands on her hips and a tired expression on her face. Wally hung back a bit on the other end of the main monitor desk.You were at the main desk, sitting back with your hands folded in your lap. With pursed lips, you would glance down at your fingers ever so often at this supposed trial. *He lied to us, but so did Harry when he first came to Earth-1 and he didn’t turn out as bad. Just prickly at times and soft in others.* When this meeting was called to confront HR, you had decided in your head that you’d want the full story from HR before judging his course of action to lie to you all.
Relationships: Earth-19 Harrison "HR" Wells & Reader, Earth-19 Harrison "HR" Wells & You, Earth-19 Harrison "HR" Wells/You, Earth-19 Harrison "HR' Wells/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

“You were named *Entrepreneur of the Decade* by “Tech Magazine”?” Cisco read off the monitor, arms folded as he maintained a look of doubt on his features. Iris sat on a chair; one leg crossed over the other as she rested her head against the palm of her hand. Barry stood right behind where his love sat, glancing from the screen back to the Wells doppelganger and crossed his arms like his best friend. Caitlin leaned against the main Cortex desk with both hands on her hips and a tired expression on her face. Wally hung back a bit on the other end of the main monitor desk. 

You were at the main desk, sitting back with your hands folded in your lap. With pursed lips, you would glance down at your fingers ever so often at this supposed trial. *He lied to us, but so did Harry when he first came to Earth-1 and he didn’t turn out as bad. Just prickly at times and soft in others.* When this meeting was called to confront HR, you had decided in your head that you’d want the full story from HR before judging his course of action to lie to you all.

“That’s right,” HR confirm with a drumstick pointed at his entire resume, eyes avoiding your gaze. He had calmed his breathing, but when his eyes met yours, he felt the tension climb within himself. He hadn’t wanted you of all people to find out like this. *If only my charade had gone on for a few more weeks, I would probably have entrusted my truth to you.* You had been the one cutie on the Team to not look at him oddly, especially when he made minor errors during his charade. A voice at the back of his mind told him that you had probably already figured out that HR wasn’t who he proclaimed that he was, but then again, you hadn’t questioned him. So, he left it at that… until the team called for him to fess up.

“Is any of what’s on here true?”

“All of it.” With a pocketed hand, HR waved a drumstick to the screen for emphasis. His electric blue eyes caught you looking off to the side. HR didn’t need to know what you were thinking to hazard a guess of what you thought of him right now. What everyone thought of him when they learned his truth.

“How? You can barely turn on a computer.” Barry quipped up, nodding his head towards a random computer.

“There are two parts to every idea. There is the inception and the execution. I provide the former.”

“So, you come up with the ideas?” Iris clarified while Barry kept a dubious look on his face directed at the dark-haired doppelganger.

“Yeah, I don’t know how to implement them. *I’m the idea man.*”

“So, you didn’t actually solve the cryptogram that we sent you?” Caitlin asked, knowing that she had already answered her own question.

“No, that was my partner at STAR Labs on my Earth. I’m the face of the company.” HR responded making a photograph gesture of his face before fiddling with his drumsticks once more. Caitlin gave him an incredulous look at his response. You moved your gaze up, taking a peek to the rest of the contents on the screen before looking back at HR. The drumstick fiddling had caught your attention more than once since his arrival here and you’re more than convinced that HR does it when he’s nervous. *Especially when he’s been caught red-handed.* “I’m more of the inspiration behind the company. Then I was exposed.” His tone had softened, glancing at you from the peripheral before dipping his head down. Your heart caught in your throat at his dejected body language. Iris and Barry locked gazes with each other before listening HR’s continuation. “Well, people thought that I was something that I… I guess I wasn’t. Anyway, it… it kind of all fell apart for me.” HR let out a little breath, before continuing. Your heart fell a bit at the amount of hurt that had been laced with his voice. “But then I got your message. My partner brought me your message. I realized he’s bringing me an opportunity to come to this Earth to write this book.” HR’s face gradually lit up as he finished, a true novelist articulating his emotions through his words and gestures.

“So many planets in the multiverse,” Cisco mused in disbelief to himself while everyone glanced to one another, “and we happen to pick the one Wells who’s not a scientist.” You made eye contact with Caitlin, who shook her head while you did a subtle shrug of the shoulders.

“You’re right. I wasn’t completely honest with you- with all of you.” HR took a seat as he spoke, rolling a bit closer. HR let out a breath, swinging the drumstick around. He couldn’t look at you in fear of what he might find. “I feel badly about that. I regret that. But let me ask you a question, has there been none amongst you that has ever shaded the truth for what you believe to be the greater good?” *He’s right, we all try to hide our demons, our own terrible truths from hurting others. Barry from telling Iris that he was the Flash, Cisco when he first found out he was a meta, and so on. I’m no different either.*

“It sounds to me like you’re a con man.” Wally interjected in the silence. Murmurs of agreement rang out through the members of Team Flash while you only raised a confused eyebrow at Wally’s conclusion. *Then I guess we’re all con men? I mean, we’ve all kept the truth from each other before.* You kept your comments to yourself as you watched the others and HR. You already had your verdict, setting your chin in the palm of your hand as you rested your elbow on the cool surface of the desk.

HR got up towards Cisco, readily defending himself, “Was I a con man when I showed San Francisco here how to track the beast using car alarms? Was I a con man when I showed him how to fashion a rope using carbon fiber?” You held in a snicker when he referred to Cisco as ‘San Francisco’. *I guess that’s one thing we have in common with his Earth.*

“I came up with those ideas!”

“You were prompted by my suggestions.”

“Oh?” Cisco shook his head slightly at HR.

“That is how ideas work! People, you need a muse! *I can be your muse*,” HR pointed to himself, hoping to any higher power that the Team would accept that role for him to at least do. You gave him a soft smile at his suggestion.

“What about stopping all the metas on your Earth?” Wally asked, gesturing to the doppelganger before taking a step forward. Barry and Wally exchanged looks before shaking their heads at one another as HR started speaking.

“More of an advisory role for me, but I was there. I remembered how we- you don’t think that’s something? Let me present you with a scenario. You’re confronted with something, a threat that you’ve never seen before. You don’t know how to stop it. Who does?” He pointed his drumstick towards himself. The novelist needed them to reconsider whatever decision that they already had. To reconsider booting him off this Earth and to give him a chance. “That’s value to you. Let me prove my worth to you. If I fail, I will *pfft* right back to my Earth, but if I succeed, I will have succeeded not just in redeeming myself but also… will have done some good with my life,” he quickly mumbled the latter part, feeling sheepishly embarrassed, maybe even humiliated by the last statement, but if this is the way to go for redemption then it was certainly worth trying for.

“You know, you’re lucky we’re pretty big on redemption and doing good here,” Barry spoke on behalf of the team, gesturing to you all with a hand, “so I think you can- I don’t know stay for a few weeks, try to prove yourself, but if not, *fyoo*, back to your Earth.” You watched with a quizzical look as Caitlin left the room. *Must be the exhaustion from today. I hope she’s alright.*

“Thank you,” HR sighed in relief, clapping his hands together in thanks towards Barry. He couldn’t help the fact that his eyes took a quick glimpse of you. He told himself he wasn’t sure why anymore; he had been exposed as a fraud once more. You wouldn’t want anything to do with him. Simple as that.

“Hey,” Cisco had stopped HR with a pointed look and finger, “no more repackaging.”

“Word is bond.”

“That- just- no more of that.” Wally and Cisco started heading out from the Cortex.

“All right, HR,” Barry and Iris were the last pair to go, bidding their ‘goodnights’. You had gotten up with them, knowing there was nothing else left to say, but to go home for the night to rest up for any more of the new timeline metas. Walking halfway through the corridor towards the elevator and trailing behind the West-Allen Gold Standard, a thought stopped you. *Maybe… he just needs someone to teach him-* You weren’t able to finish the thought as your feet silently carried you back to the Cortex. There HR sat with his back towards you, a drumstick in hand and his other hand rubbing the back of his neck as he stared at the screen that held his resume and qualifications. While he was given a chance, you knew that he would have to effectively and efficiently find a way to prove himself before his time ran out.

“Word is bond, that’s a cute saying,” you softly spoke out, leaning against the metal frame of the Cortex entrance. HR let out a little “ah!” at the suddenness of your voice, accidentally throwing one of his drumsticks backwards. It sailed back towards your general area. You giggled at the reaction, picking up the instrument piece and handing it over to him when he had turned around. HR had let out a word of relief with a hand over his heart when he realized it was you. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“For a little birdy, you sure do know how to be as silent and sneaky as a snail.” His cheeks felt warm when he heard you giggle; a bright smile had graced your features when you approached him. HR hoped you wouldn’t notice.

“Don’t you mean a mouse?”

“Snails can be silent.”

“I know, but the saying is ‘silent as a mouse’.” You pulled up a chair to sit beside him. The now dimmed lights of the Cortex had eased your headaches. “I guess that’s just another comparison between our Earths.”

HR looked at you oddly, running his fingers over both drumsticks that he held in one hand, “It doesn’t bother you?”

“Hm? What would?”

“How- How I say words and phrases differently? Do things differently from the people here on Earth-1?”

“I just think that makes you really unique,” you shrugged your shoulders a bit, giving him a soft grin. HR felt the heat returning to his cheeks again and now spread up to his ears. No one has really called him unique, certainly not in a good way either.

“But the others think its peculiar, just too much.”

“Well, I think it’s cool that there’s some form of variation from our Earth’s. Give the others some time, they’ll get used to you, I promise.” You secretly prided yourself with the ability to give people of various backgrounds and characters the benefit of the doubt. *Open-mindedness as well as kind acts can go a long way, after all.*

A deep chuckle left HR’s lips and you felt something jump in your stomach. HR glanced up to the monitor before looking back at you. “I’m guessing you’re not here just to chatter-chitter, huh.”

“You’re right, I’m not.” You folded your hands together in your lap, intertwining you fingers as you crossed one leg over the other. Almost looking business-like. “I have a proposition for you, HR.”

“Oh really?” The novelist quirked an eyebrow at you, he sat back to match your body language as if the both of you were associates discussing a business transaction.

“Yes sir, but you have to keep this a secret between us, ok? Word is bond?”

A smile laced itself onto HR’s ruggedly handsome features at your iteration of his Earth’s phrase. You swore the room lit up a little bit at his smile. “Word is bond.”

You nibbled on your bottom lip, choosing your words wisely before speaking up again. “… I also want something in return.”

“Naturally, an eye for an eye, but it’ll depend on the prize that you want. What’s your proposition, little birdy?”

“I want to help you realize your worth and value to the team. You know, find a way for you to be helpful with the time that you have here. And starting with teaching you the basics of turning on a computer.”

“At what cost?”

“Three questions.” You simply held up three fingers.

“I’m sorry?”

“You’d need to answer a total of three questions that I could have at any point of your stay here. No resisting and no shading of the truth. No avoidance, either. Just the honest to God truth.”

“…” HR remained silent, contemplating your proposition and the costs. Wondering your true intentions and if you would be the type of person to betray him. *Like so many others have in my life*. HR took one took at your smug-ish face before a sigh left his mouth. Your smile had twisted into a grin.

“Well?”

“Do you promise on your soul not to blackmail me?”

“Word is bond,” you repeated gingerly. HR reluctantly agreed with raspy voice, blue eyes holding some form of trust in you.

A cheeky laugh left your lips as HR relaxed a bit in his seat, sort of contemplating what he had just gotten himself into as he watched you stand up from your seat. You offered a hand to him, that grin on your face turning into a slightly mischievous one as your other hand had held your tablet close to your chest.

“Let’s get started.”

***

The next few weeks you would hang out with HR, teaching him the basics of scanning the city for metas, understanding the basics of how a computer works, and so on. He really had been putting in a lot of effort, asking to take notes which you thought was sweet, even if some of the others didn’t welcome it at the time. HR had gone to the extent of re-reading old meta case files that the team had stored and would go on coffee runs every morning just to make sure the team was awake for the next meta sent by Alchemy. You found out about the files one morning when you found him in his pre-caffeinated sleep state in the Cortex with the files littering the computer screens. You had gotten a spare blanket and draped it over him so he wouldn’t be cold.

It wasn’t until you heard some yelling and soft curse words being thrown around from within the Cortex, that your feet picked up their pace from where you were in the corridor. You tilted your head, standing at the door-frame as you can sense the frustration emitting from Cisco towards HR. Caitlin was rubbing her temples while Barry was just running a hand through his hair as he tried to keep his irritation off his face.

“Good afternoon?” Your greeting was more in the form of a question as you knocked on the metal door-frame to alert the others of your attention. Barry and Caitlin had breathed a sigh of relief at your presence, sending you gracious smiles towards you. Cisco had shut his eyes, massaging his temples. “I brought homemade goods?” You held up the bag that had been filled with sugar cookies, sweet berry tarts, and brownies.” A small smile was on your face, glancing at everyone before setting the goods down. HR lowered his drumsticks and internally felt at ease that you had come at just the right time before Cisco’s berating would soon turn even nastier. With swift feet, the author left the room, probably going to make a new cup of coffee that he’s gotten so attached to.

“Finally, someone sensible around here,” Cisco grumbled to himself, making his way to where you placed the goods in hopes that delicate pastries from your hands would calm his spiked-up mood. “Please keep him out of the labs today,” the mechanical genius leaned into you, holding up a brownie.

“He’s just trying to help, Cisco,” You whispered back to Cisco, giving your friend a side-glance.

“I know, but we really have a lead on all these husks, and we don’t want him distracting us from that,” Cisco stated almost desperately. “Please, just this once.”

“You’re lucky that I’m a good friend.”

“Yes, I am. And,” Cisco pulled out a paper from his pocket, handing it over to you, “I have a list for you.” You gave him a quizzical look as you took the paper and unfolded it, to which Cisco spoke again. “We’re going to need a few items for the break room and from Star City, mainly Felicity.”

“Why can’t Barry speed over to get these?”

“Because CCPD, specifically Barry’s new partner, needs him to be on time whenever they call or else, he gets reported to Sighn. Again.” Caitlin spoke up, taking a sip from her cup of lemonade.

Barry sheepishly looked over at you, a tart half-eaten in his mouth as he waved at you with a cookie in hand. “Uh huh,” you rolled your eyes, not really liking doing errand work, but at least you get to see Felicity again, “just do me a favor, don’t touch my algorithms.”

“No promises. Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes, San Francisco?”

“Don’t call me that.” He rolled his eyes. “Make sure you crazy kids don’t stay out for too long,” Cisco winked at you, hinting towards something he and Caitlin had confronted you about earlier that week. Barry looked confused as ever, mumbling out a huh ‘huh?’ with his mouth still full. The blood rushed to your cheeks before you flipped him off, earning a cheeky look from your friends who just smirked at your reaction. You left the room, throwing Cisco one more pointed look about your coding and algorithms before striding to the breakroom to find HR, who’s probably sulking with his heavily caffeinated cup of coffee.

***

“Hey HR,” you entered the breakroom, spotting the broad back of the dark-haired doppelganger, “why don’t you come run some errands with me?”

HR was silent for a moment; the only sound was the clinking of the coffeemaker as it began to hibernate once more. “Did they want me out of the labs today?” You heard the hurt in his voice as he finished brewing his perfect blend, turning around with a dejected expression. You nodded a bit as you looked down, taking a step closer towards him and resting a hand on his forearm. You squeezed it slightly, feeling incapable of lying to him about… anything really. His shoulders fell, shaking his head as he pulled away from your warm touch.

“Give them some time to cool off,” You spoke softly in a low tone. “In the meantime, we’ve got a few places to visit. And I’m definitely going to need a strong hand.”

HR chuckled a bit, holding his cup of java close to him. “I’m sure you can handle it on your own. You’re a strong, independent, and intelligent female.” His comments made the blood rush to your cheeks. You gently took a hold of his free hand, feeling stubbornness wash over you.

“Yes, but I want your help. I want you to come out with me today.” You pouted at him. The both of you stared at each other. “And I’m not going to take no for an answer.” You poked his shoulder as you stated that.

“…”

“…”

You smiled widely when he sighed in defeat, rolling his eyes slightly before setting his coffee down. You both knew his answer. HR couldn’t deny the amount of light that he saw twinkle in your eyes at how he gave in. He liked to think it was because he agreed to accompany you today, but… He pushed his thoughts aside as you giddily pulled him along as you grabbed one of his dark jackets that he had left on one of the couches. He hastily snatched up his drumsticks as well.

“Where are we going, little birdy?”

“We, my dear bookworm, are going to visit an old friend in Star City.”

***

After finishing up with Felicity in the Arrow Cave, you and HR bid her goodbye with the materials that Cisco had noted down for you, but not before she pulled you close and whispered “Go get’em tiger” in your ear, pushing you in HR’s general direction which caused you to stumble forward with pink cheeks. Said man looked confused at the exchange, you stuttered out that it was nothing. Felicity and HR had gotten along well enough, causing something to stir slightly inside you. But you shook those feelings away. Felicity sent Cisco a quick text message once the two of you left, feeling happy for her close friend, who sadly remains oblivious to the signs of love. *HR seems like a nice enough guy, not as shady as Eobard Thawne. I just hope he doesn’t break her like all the other guys she’s been with before.* Even Felicity had noticed the way HR had looked at you. The genius hacker pursed her lips and went back to monitoring the city. 

He does have to admit that leaving the labs today was a good change in scenery. HR didn’t feel as cooped up as he initially did. Leaving Star City, a thought came to you as you and HR entered downtown Central City. Cisco had also given you a grocery list to complete since him and a certain speedster were always running out of things to eat in the breakroom. I swear they have bottomless pits in their stomachs. *A literal void of absolute emptiness that’ll never be satisfied. And how many freaking things do we need to buy???* HR and you had both agreed to drop off the tech pieces at the Labs for Cisco before completing the errand run. 

“HR?”

“Yes, little birdy?”

“Why do you always call me ‘little birdy’?”

“Is that the first question you wish to use?” He perked an eyebrow up at you. *I feel like a Djinn about to grant three wishes to the one who released me from my lamp prison.*

“… No.”

“Then I guess, my secrets shall remain in the depths of my being.” HR watched a pout form on your face, and he had to force himself to look away. Clearing his throat, HR asked, “Where to next?” HR made sure the leather backpack of tech Cisco needed was securely on his back.

“Apparently, we have to do the Team’s grocery shopping today,” you sighed in annoyance, running a hand through your locks. Checking the time on your phone, you chewed on the inside of your cheek. “I was hoping to at least have some time today to drop by CSMC.”

*The CSMC?* HR furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you do exactly?”

“Me? Well I’m a Computer Scientist, guess you figured out that part from my expertise with computers.” You laughed a little at yourself, not noticing the graying of the clouds. “Felicity’s two years my senior back in grad school, she taught me all the ropes in coding and hacking. When I finally graduated, we both had big dreams for the future, one of mine was to fund an establishing tutoring program to encourage more girls into careers involving computer science, robotics, and mathematics.” HR grinned at the notion, readjusting the strap of the backpack. “Felicity soon joined me in my endeavors with advocating for younger girls while pursuing her own and ever since then we’ve been visiting CSMC when we can. Society is changing and people are beginning to understand that these fields aren’t just for men, but for all people of various backgrounds. Central City and Star City work in collaboration to keep the centers running.”

HR was a bit speechless, the capability of your thoughtfulness seemed to know no bounds. “I shouldn’t have expected any less from someone as intellectually gifted as you.”

You glanced up at the taller man, a slightly humorous look on your face, “HR, I’m not smart. I just try to work really hard. I finished school at the bottom of my class actually. Hell, Cisco catches my mistakes still. It’s a miracle that I even got hired at STAR Labs. I’m not perfect really.”

“But you’re good enough that you’re able to work wonders with Team Flash. Saving lives, disabling villainous security systems. You really are an incredible soul.” *I can’t do any of that…*

*I bet you’re incredible too, you just don’t know it yet.* You pursed your lips smiling up at him, one that he returned before nudging you with his elbow. You giggled and nudged him back before walking in silence once more. “I think I know what I want to ask for my first question.” HR quirked a pesky eyebrow at you, his smile turning into a wry smirk. He pocketed his hands as you both seemed to lose track of time.

“What was your life like back on Earth-19?”

HR felt his blood freeze in his veins at your question. HR had stopped, causing you to stop as you found yourselves a few blocks away from STAR Labs. *The truth would come out sooner or later.* A haunting voice echoed at the back of his mind, mentally presenting his nighttime demons that revealed themselves in his dreams.*All of it.*


	2. Chapter 2

“HR?” you gave his arm a little squeeze, concern flooding your eyes at the sudden shift in his body language. Tension replacing his usually sunshine-y disposition that you had been accustomed to seeing every day, even if it expertly masked how he truly felt at times around the others. Gradually realizing that you eagerly wanted to see him sincerely smile at the beginning of each day to know that he was doing ok. A part of you wanted to retract your question, but a bigger part wanted to know- to understand what had happened to him to cause such a change in his demeanor.

“Are you sure this is what you wish to know?”

You swallowed your saliva as your answer fell out of your mouth without a second thought, “Yes.”

HR rubbed his face with a firm hand, exhaling slowly through his nose. What he shouldn’t have expected was for you to back down, after all you were just trying to befriend him. He knows you weren’t trying to intentionally hurt him, especially with all the kindness you’d shown him. “The people in my life have always set high expectations for me.” HR reopened those crystal blue eyes that you’ve found yourself falling into more than once. *Like a riptide.* He held your gaze, rubbing the skin on his wrist. “I came from a well-off family of scientists. My father was a genius physicist and a mathematician while my mother contributed whatever time she had to her cancer research. Everyone in the science community knew of the Wells family. I was… different. I didn’t want to study science or math; I didn’t want to be stuck in labs making analysis and collecting data. I wanted to create worlds and write my own reality- adventures that I can only dream of going on.” Your hand soon found his, giving it a little squeeze to let him know that you were listening intently. “My mother had a weak heart after I was born, so her movement was limited, but she gave me all her time while balancing her research and my father. My father… indirectly had blamed me for her health complication, fueled by my failure to follow in the scientific field. I essentially besmirched our family name.” You can tell where that was going, heard similar stories shared by friends of the past. Your heart clenched tightly in your chest for HR. “One thing came after another and my mother passed away from her heart condition, all because she was defending my desire to write and my interests in traveling.”

“I’m sorry,” you looked down, now mentally scolding yourself. “I-I shouldn’t have asked.” *I’m so stupid, of course with that reaction he… I’m an idiot for asking. After this he won’t want to talk to me. After this, he won’t want to be around me again. I’m so stupid. I didn’t mean to hurt him.*

“You didn’t know,” HR chuckled mirthlessly, a somber smile crossed his face as the author waved off your apology. He hadn’t noticed your hand in his until now, how his larger hand had encased your smaller one as if complementing each other like puzzle pieces. HR swallowed whatever had gotten caught in his throat. “My father wasn’t a fan of me or I him. But my mother was the one that I held onto dearly. She always told me that it’s ok to be myself, that I’m worth something, so I should keep smiling and continue on with my work. Then I met Randolf Morgan in middle school, and well, here we are.” HR sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. You saw his eyes glistening so you couldn’t help yourself but wrap your arms around him. HR returned the hug, letting out a breath as he concluded in a low whisper, “I hadn’t… truly confided my story to anyone in a while.” The invisible chains of his past still hung onto him even after all these years. *What else could I have done, but to lie as Randolf covered for me until we re-opened up STAR Labs.*

“Well, I’m here for you,” you spoke softly into his chest with red cheeks, unbeknownst to you his own cheeks and ears were flushing a similar color, “whenever you need me.” When you both pulled away a heavy droplet from the heavens fell onto your nose, causing you to snap your neck back a bit. HR laughed at your reaction to which you pouted at him for until another drop hit him in the eye. You laughed at his demise. Not a second too soon, an army of rain drops cascaded down onto the city, pelting down you and HR. The clouds angrily rumbled in up above. Instantly, the Earth-19 novelist had taken off the backpack and shrugged his jacket off.

“What are you doing?” You loudly asked him as the noise of rainfall increased. “You’re going to get sick!”

With a determined look, HR was already wrapping his jacket around you, but you resisted. “You’re going to get sick too!” Your hair was already sticking to your forehead as was HR’s, your shirt clung to the skin of your back. This seemed vaguely similar to a scene in all those cheesy rom-coms that Caitlin and Iris watch, but instead of a kiss under the gentle flow of rain, the water’s unyieldingly merciless to you and HR. *A kiss would have been nice though.*

“We’re both going to get sick!”

“Put this on-” HR firmly spoke, taking a hold of your hand once you had your arms in the sleeves of his warm jacket, “-and get ready to run.”

“Huh?!”

“We’re only a few blocks away from the labs, we can make it back and dry off there,” he explained as HR adjusted the backpack on his person once more. You wordlessly followed him back to the labs with fast steps. His warm hand had tugged yours along. *Way to ruin everything rain.*

***

Once back to the empty labs, HR had ushered you to his room as you both left a trail of water droplets. You two were cold and soaked to the bone. *I… think my bra’s wet too.* The rainstorm ragged outside and boy where you were relieved to finally be inside the labs. *Cisco’s stuff is surely damaged at this point from the amount of rain. I guess we might have to make another trip up to Star City.* HR handed you a dry towel, to which you immediately began to dry your hair as he did his own. You giggle when he had finished, revealing a floofy mess. He looked at you quizzically before you shook your head at him. You had to reprimand yourself from having your eyes trail along with the droplets that had trickled down his neck and into his shirt. *I have no idea how to get home and on top of that, HR’s looking unfairly sexy right now. More so than he already is on a day to day basis.* You once again scolded yourself for such thirsty thoughts because there was no way someone like him would want someone like you. He was up there, and you were just… down there. Literally from two different worlds. You shifted your footing a bit as you continued to dry yourself off as best as you could.

You crinkled your nose at the way you smelled from the rain then you mentally facepalmed because you just did that in front of the cute novelist… whom you’re not crushing on because you’ve obviously got no chance with him. A shiver ran throughout your body as a small sneeze left you. HR didn’t know why, but he found your tiny sneeze to be cute as a puppy-like grin made its way on his lips.

“You can borrow my shower if you want. That way you can warm up and avoid getting sick.”

“I’m not-” you sneezed once more, holding the towel close to you for some warmth. “…” You remained silent, sheepishly and stubbornly looking at anything other than HR. *A warm shower does sound really nice right about now, especially with the idea of getting out of these wet clothes.* You still had his jacket on your body, you’d have to return that too.

“Uh huh, you were saying?”

“… HR.”

“Yes, little sick birdy?”

“I-I don’t have any extra clothes with m-me.”

You and HR just blinked at one another as water trickled down the back of your neck from your roots. “…” Clearing his throat, HR fumbled around his room to get clothes that would fit you. You saw his face had reddened and so your immediate thought was that he had gotten fever, but before you could ask HR had handed you a dark long-sleeve and some shorts with adjustable strings. “J-just leave your clothes in the basket by the door and I’ll put them in the dryer.”

HR sneezed after you had entered his bathroom, mind going to places he shouldn’t have let it go to, especially in this situation. The author sighed as he pushed the thought away of your undergarments also being among the wet clothes. *Stop, you’re a gentlemen, not a hormonal teen with his crush over for a slumber party from kissing out in the rain like fools.* HR shrugged his wet shirt off once he heard the shower start, his mind easing that you would no longer be cold. Pulling out some clothes to change into, he realized that it’s better to do so until after you’ve finished with your shower, he’d then take his turn and change into a new set, but at least he’d be dry for the moment. The laundry basket was placed by the entrance of the bathroom, but out of view from his bedroom. Picking it up, he accidentally caught sight of your bra among your clothes. *Maybe I’m the fool…* The dark-haired Wells nibbled on his bottom lip as he went to place the clothes in the dryer. Blue eyes took one final glance at his room before wandering to the brown bag of a purchase that he had bought a few days prior. *I guess now’s the best time to set those up.*

***

The entirety of your time in his shower, you had blamed the heat for your pink-flushed face and how fast your heart had been beating. The warmth of the water thawed your body as you berated your heart for running a thousand miles an hour. You’d rub your face multiple times to stop yourself from daydreaming any longer of how you’d want to spend the rest of your days in his arms, basking in his generous smile and sunny-like personality. *I’m a fool for hoping.* You made sure to take a quick shower as to not take all the hot water because… this isn’t your bathroom. Stepping out of the shower, you wrapped a spare towel around your form. You faced the fact that for the evening, you would smell like HR as your only shower options were limited to his own shampoo/conditioner and body wash. You played with your damp locks before fully drying off and putting the long-sleeve sweater on your body. The scent of his cologne as well as a forest-y musk hung to his shirt with the vague smell of old books and you swore it was making your head spin, intoxicating you. *Get yourself together! He’s just being nice, that’s all.*

You peered outside the window, finding that the rain relentlessly fell onto the city. Thankfully, your panties weren’t too wet, so you opted to have them on as you lamented your bralessness. (The soft fabric scratched slightly against your nipples.) Taking a glance at the mirror, the shirt hung on you a bit loosely as it reached past mid-thigh length while the sleeves needed to be rolled up to your wrists. *Guess I don’t need the shorts.* You re-folded the shorts he had given you. *They weren’t going to fit me anyway, but I do appreciate the thought.* You wrapped the towel around your head and padded out of the misty bathroom.

“HR, do you have a hairbrush that I could use?” You asked as you peered into his bedroom, mentally wondering if this is what it would be like to be his and sleeping over for the night. Sighing sadly, you pushed the idea to the depths of your mind.

“Should be back in the bathroom, first drawer on the right,” he had called out with his back turned to you. You weren’t able to see what he had been tinkering with. Hearing some shuffling behind him, HR assumed you had re-entered the bathroom for the brush. The Wells doppelganger had finished setting up his purchase and had already put your clothes in the dryer with his wet ones. He had gotten two mugs of hot chocolate, readily seated on the small counter. The Earth-19 being had remembered you telling him that you liked the warm beverage when you both were discussing drinks on a coffee run to Jitters for the team. Reasons beyond him, that was one of the details that had struck his memory 10 minutes or so ago. “Did you find it?” He turned around at the sound of the bathroom door clicking shut and HR swore that he felt his whole world stop.

HR swallowed thickly as you took your hair down from the towel up-do, messily tangled and awaiting to be brushed out. In his eyes he saw that his shirt had encased you perfectly, but also allowing his imagination to not wander too far. The novelist chewed on the inside of his cheek as he looked back into your eyes. He took a breath, knowing his self-control was what the stars were testing him on today.

You self-consciously smoothed out the soft fabric of the long-sleeve shirt as the towel hung over your forearm. “H-How do I look?” The words tumbled out of your mouth before your mind could even register what you had said. Your gaze finally locked onto his, not noticing that for a split second his eyes had looked you over.

“Good- you look good.” HR did his best not to stumble with his words when in reality he wanted to say so much more. *But that would be inappropriate.* He couldn’t deny that his heart had swelled with pride at how his clothes looked on you. The taller man had gathered his things for his own shower. “I- The rain doesn’t seem to be letting up now so- I mean only if you want to- you could make yourself at home until it calms down.”

“Yeah, yeah. That sounds like a plan.”

“I made hot chocolate for us- you- I think you like it?”

“I- I do yes! Um- sorry for imposing and everything.”

“Trust me, you’re not. It… gets lonely here sometimes,” he tilted his head as a laugh left him, having the gall to send you a wink before he entered the bathroom. Butterflies started a rave in your body at the wink. Shutting the door, HR leaned against it and released an audible sigh. *It truly does get lonely every night.* He closed his eyes as he felt various chemical hormones, adrenaline among them causing his body to feel nervous and tingly. Sensations that he hadn’t felt towards anyone in a really long time. *What are you doing to me, little birdy?* was the only thought left in HR’s mind as he started up the shower.

Smiling to yourself, you hummed out a little tune as you had set your hair into a French braid after getting all those pesky knots out. You checked your phone for any texts or missed calls only to find it at 5%. *I should really carry a charger around with me.* Placing the wet towel in the laundry basket, you turned around to observe your surroundings. You happily noticed that HR had remodeled the area to his liking, giving his temporary residency a home-y kind of vibe with the current decorum. What had really caught your attention was what appeared to be his work desk littered with books and spare papers messily put together along with glasses that were unfolded beside some candles.

Your feet had padded on the cool concrete floor as you approached the desk. *I didn’t know he wore glasses.* Picking them up, you analyzed them before putting them on for a few seconds. *They look so much like Harry’s and Thawne’s, but they’re for reading instead.* Slipping them off your face and settling the glasses back to their respective spot on the desk, your eyes wandered over to a slightly open manuscript paper set at the top of all the other case-covered books. A dark green bookmark and a pen was lodged in the midst of it, the bookmark tucking out from the top of the page. Curiosity picked and pulled at your brain, tempting you to take hold of the thick papers and unravel its contents. You pursed your lips. *I’m sure he won’t mind… I’ll just put it back when I hear the water turn off… A little peek won’t hurt anyone.*

*Ethereal Beings* was the title of the manuscript, printed with HR’s initials beneath. You settled at his desk, cracking the novel open and pulling out the pen as you wondered what kind of books HR had written. Running a hand through your hair, you began reading the prologue as you took sips from your hot chocolate-filled mug. Unbeknownst to you that you would become so engrossed in the plot of the Mermaid and the Pirate Gentleman (coincidentally meeting and unknowingly searching for the Kjarni Flower) that you wouldn’t hear the sound of the shower shutting off.

HR turned the shower off after dealing with some… pesky thoughts. The fantasy author quickly styled his hair to his level of perfection and applied a spray of cologne onto his skin as he freshened up. HR took in a breath before exhaling slowly. Leaving the bathroom with a crisp white short-sleeve shirt and dark sweatpants, HR spotted your petite frame hunched over his desk. He raised an eyebrow at you.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah!” You felt a rush of electricity shock you as you dropped the manuscript, which landed with a dull thud. You quarter-filled cup of warm milky chocolate almost spilled over at the impact. Turning around, your blood rushed to your head as HR approach you. You awkwardly stumbled over your words. “I-I was totally not reading one of your books that just happened to be lying on your desk.” *Please believe me… I’m so guilty, what the hell?*

“Uh huh”

HR just shook his head at you, pulling the dropped three-hole bounded paper set from you. Out of every reading material he had published, you had chosen to crack open the one he had been revising. Taking a seat on the plush bed, his gentle baby blues scanned over the text.

“Would you be able to read to me your current work?”

“Is that what you wish your second question to be?”

He had raised a teasing eyebrow at you to which you nodded at his question in confirmation; HR smirked as he patted the space beside him on his bed. Sheepishly you stumbled onto his bed and scooted beside him but remained a respective distance apart.

“Two in one day, things must be getting really interesting in that head of yours.” HR joked as he reached over to shut off the main lights to the room, simultaneously flicking on another switch. *And he said let there be light.* Your eyes lit up at the spectacle dimly lighting the room, yet providing a good enough light in close proximity for reading.

“HR,” you whispered, slowly looking around the room at the twinkling fairy lights. *How did I not notice them? The lights continued to sparkle around the both of you, an insightful truth hidden among them.*

“I figured you’d like them. You mentioned a couple days ago that you’re fond of them, but never had time to actually go out to buy some. So, I thought…” HR trailed off once the fairy lights had illuminated. A soft and toothy grin graced his features as he saw stars twinkle brightly in your eyes. Your face held a smile of jubilee. HR held up the manuscript, regaining your attention, “Shall we continue your adventure with the Mermaid and Pirate Gentleman?”

“I thought that one was published since you seem to do things differently on your Earth.”

“So, you thought our books would be different?”

“Uh huh!”

“We have books with covers, your choice on the illustration of course, and coverless manuscripts too. This is essentially a drafting manuscript, I’m in need to revise it before submitting it in for further publication. That’s why I had it open.” HR had rubbed the back of his head as he explained, giving you a great view of his bicep unfairly and reflexing a flex. A firm vein popped along the strained muscle. You swore the universe was out to remind you of your everlasting singleness and infatuation with the Wells doppelganger. *That’s really… an appealing piece of muscle.*

HR didn’t grab his glasses, knowing after a while his eyes would strain a bit at the reading. But he didn’t want to look like Harry. As his handsome Earth-2 doppelganger had once said to the others *“I’m my own man”* and so was HR. And others may view the decision as selfish, but he didn’t want you to see Harry. Especially in this moment.

“Are you not going to drink your hot chocolate?” You pointed to his now cold beverage.

“I was, but it’s cold now.”

“Then I’ll go heat it up for you.”

“And you’ll come back?”

“Of course, you have to fulfill my second question after all.”

HR watched you perk up and off the bed with a mission to provide him a warm drink as he had done for you. Biting down on his lower lip he got under the covers. You returned with a warm mug of hot coco for your crush friend this time with a candy cane in it. HR only looked at you quizzically before you handed the cup over to him, telling him to try it. He took one sip, humming in delight and approval. You grinned taking a seat next to the author.

“Chapter 3: Of Pestilence and Mayhem,” HR had started with a low voice, unknowingly allowing your heart to jump at the tone. “The fates seemed to have decided to toy with Gerard today…” He continued on, expertly reading through each sentence that you hung on to. You fought with sleep that gradually clouded your vision as HR moved on to the next chapter. Midway through the chapter, you had subconsciously scooted closer to HR as he seemed to provide a pretty good source of heat. HR subtly noticed but voiced no rejection of it.

As the novelist moved from line to line, there was a growing battle between your mind and the cloudiness of dreams that threatened to take over. You yawned in audibly accidentally causing HR to, but he kept on reading. *I don’t want to go home, he’s so warm and his voice sounds so nice… Like velvety chocolate.* The heaviness in your eyes won the battle against your resistance, causing them to flutter shut as a sleepy haze took over you. Simultaneously, your head had rocked to the side and fallen gently onto his shoulder as a pillow remained loosely clutched in your arms.

HR turned his head, watching your chest rise and fall as gentle breaths escaped you while you were in a world of dreams. Letting out a little breath, the corners of his lips turned up at the corners as HR shook his head at you. But his thoughts subtly stop him. *Was I that boring? Maybe the plot needs to be reworked?* HR decided that he’d ask you in the morning as he set aside the manuscript. For now, he pushed the covers away as he moved your gently in a better position to sleep. With one last look, HR had brushed a strand of hair out of your face. HR mused to himself that to anyone watching, they’d see hidden adoration and maybe something else within his blue iris. Maybe a dark and possessive quality he didn’t know he had. Who knows? HR analyzed your sleeping form before sweetly planting a kiss to your forehead, secretly wishing in the depths of his soul that you were willingly his to love. HR’s fallen in love before, it’s just the unfortunate fact that it was something that was never reciprocated to him in his life.

“Goodnight, my little songbird.”

***

Blood-curdling screams had greeted the multiversal author as he descended into sleep. HR’s eyes snapped open, finding himself standing ankle-length in a dark-colored substance. The acrid smell overwhelmed his senses as his eyes slowly focused. It took a few seconds for the taller man to register the foul and metallic smell of blood. He was standing in blood! HR yelped at first trying to move his legs away, feeling as if the fluid had nipped at his skin, almost burning him. But the gruesome fluid was everywhere. Trembling blue eyes looked all around the landscape, finding nothing but a void of black death.

“Pathetic,” the familiar voice sneered. HR’s gaze locked onto Harry, who continued to give him an annoyed look. HR furrowed his eyebrows.

“Excuse me?”

“Pathetic, you always were pathetic. Maybe that’s why your friend Randolf sent you here.” Harry’s cold laugh tuned to the dryness of the atmosphere. He unfolded his arms to pocket his hands, HR watched as a malicious smirk weaved its way onto his doppelganger’s features. “Booting you from Earth-19 to do away with your pitifulness. You can’t even use a computer correctly. How laughable. You crossed to a different earth. Congrats, dead man, so have many others. How could you ever deserve someone like her? She should be with me instead. After all, I *was* here with her first.”

In a blink of an eye, Harry’s lithe form had vanished in thin air. *This is all in my head, I just need to breathe. I’ve dealt with worse; I’ve overcome many. I’m fine. I’ll be fine, I just need to breathe.* He calmed his breathing for a moment, Finally turning around, HR found decaying bodies and corpses all around. His breathing hiked again at the scene, his stomach churning. Once more, HR turned to the side only to come face to face with you. You, who had blood spilling out of the corner of your mouth. HR felt his own mouth go dry.

“Why did you leave me?” You asked in a raspy voice. HR remained frozen in place, his body unable to move away from the image of you and all the carcasses. “Why did you run?”

“I-I didn’t run. From what?”

“You let him take me,” HR’s eyes widened as blood gradually stained your chest as if you had been impaled. “You let him use me and now he killed me. You were the reason he came after me.”

“N-no no no,” HR took a step back, your haunting image taking a step forward to him. “You’re safe. You’re asleep next to me. You’re fine. Nothing happened.” Hysterically, he ran a hand through his messy hair, just noticing the blood on his hands. Your blood. He tried to shake it off in fright as you closed in on him.

“Why didn’t you save me?”

“I-“

“Didn’t you promise me to stay?”

“You’ll always be a coward, HR Wells,” HR snapped his head towards the voice. Lo and behold, the one person he hoped to never crossroads with now stood in front of him in all her leathery glory. Gypsy, a legendary Collector. “You see what you did?” The brunette strode close to him. HR felt a million of pins and needles in his limbs. “You’re the reason she died. All because you kept running and running and running. Like a coward. All these corpses were your fault, if only you had learned your lesson the first time.” The author couldn’t move his legs, couldn’t feel them, as if someone had filled them up with lead. His chest felt tight, bile stuck in his throat causing him unable to retaliate. His head screamed at him achingly. He was utterly helpless. “One way or another, I will find you, HR Wells, and I will collect you.” She made a gun gesture, aiming it right at his heart. “Bang.”

HR’s eyes snapped open, feeling himself sticky with sweat. His breathing was rapid, closing his eyes once more he forced himself to calm down. *That’s the third nightmare these past few weeks.* HR tiredly sighed, reopening his eyes and focusing them in the dimness of the room. The sun was languidly climbing up the sky, yet it was still too early for even the birds to be out and about. HR had barely registered how close you were to him now, essentially tucking yourself close to his body for warmth. Adjusting his body, HR saw how your hair tie had left your braid, allowing your hair to half be settled in the braid and half gently untamed. Soft breathes escaped you, signaling that you were still asleep.

HR ran a hand over his face before he checked the time. The sight of you calmed him but remnants of his nightmare remained at the back of his mind. *Women are usually the first ones to leave me in the morning, especially after realizing who they had slept with.* He mused that thought to himself as he pulled the blankets over your shoulders. Looking over your peaceful expression, his gaze lingered on your lips before submitting to one wish of many within his being. The novelist gingerly placed a kiss to your lips, slowly backing away to gaze upon you like prince would do to a sleeping princess. But you remained asleep, unaware of his feelings and affections for you. *If only you knew, what I would do-.* He hated his nightmares, hated those dark thoughts that constantly plagued him from reaching higher. Consistently scaring him from doing things he never imagined of doing. HR with the lightest of touches threaded his fingers through the hair that had left the confines of the braid. *I would try anything to be by your side and you at mine.*

The emotion behind HR’s eyes suddenly shifted as a thought crossed him. *Maybe… Randolf did want to get rid of me. He knows of the Inter-dimensional Travel Execution rule, yet… And here I am, on an Earth that’s not my own. With people who are not my own. And… Father did always favor Randolf since we were kids, even in his will.* HR swallowed the bile in his throat as he pursed his lips. *I guess the fates were really toying with me all along.* A little noise had erupted from your throat as you snuggling closer into HR’s chest, but with sullen eyes he had to gently pull away from your welcoming warmth. The taller man decided a walk would be best to clear his head in order to face the trials and tribulations of today with Team Flash. HR tucked you in and left the room, sparing one last glance over his shoulder before shutting the door quietly.

*Would that be her third?*


	3. Chapter 3

You took in one slow breath as your mind registered the pesky sunlight. *Morning already?* Cracking your neck, your eyes gradually fluttered open as your arms reached across the bed only for you to realize the cold emptiness of the other side. *HR? Where did he go?* You sat up and looked around, sleepy confusion written all over your face. *Did I do something weird in my sleep? Oh my god, did I accidentally slap him? …Do I even move much in my sleep?* Ridiculous thoughts flew in and out of your brain before you were hit with the face that YOU HAD SLEPT NEXT TO THE ONE GUY YOU WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR (i.e. HR, your crush and possibly the unrequited love of your life, duh). Was it necessary? Yes, very. It should be noted that you’re very much of a cuddler when you’re asleep. *Maybe that’s why he got up? I bothered him, didn’t I? Oh, he probably didn’t sleep much because of me and-.*

The collar of HR’s shirt slid slightly over one shoulder. *Hm, it seems my girls are still free.* You automatically placed your hands over your cheeks at all the thoughts hitting you at once, feeling how hot they’ve become that you literally slept with HR, but you didn’t *sleep* with HR. *Caitlin and Cisco must never know.* But that didn’t stop your heart from beating just a little bit faster at the thought. Before your mind and heart can go into full meltdown mode, your stomach grumbled, interrupting the countdown to melting down. *I’m hungry, what time is it?* You fished around for your phone only to realize that it’s still dead. *Maybe there’s a spare charger around here?* Your stomach grumbled again in protest after the thought. *Or I guess food can come first.*

***

A tiny tune left HR’s lips as he entered the Labs again, bag in hand with the notion of heading to the breakroom’s kitchen to make some breakfast for you and himself, obviously with the accompaniment of his special blend of coffee. He assumed you’d still be asleep at this hour since it was only 7:22 AM. The fantasy author ran a hand over the back of his neck as he strode to the breakroom. Upon arriving at the doorway, HR’s eyes widened slightly, and an amused smirk teased his lips as he watched the scene unfold across the kitchen area. He leaned against the metal frame of the door soundlessly. The cabinet had been open wide, cups settled on the top shelf as well as the bags of Jitters coffee. The Wells doppelganger noted that you still had his clothes on, which allowed his heart to thrum warmly in his chest, and your hair had been pulled into a messy bun. Yes, the sight did please him greatly.

A frustrated puff of air had left your lips as you climbed the counter in one fluid motion. HR silently snickered as you stabled yourself on your knees, reaching up for a bag of coffee beans. Looking through each shelf level, you couldn’t find your mug as you moved some over to find yours. Quietly, the novelist padded over to you while you clinked around with the cups. *How did my mug get all the way over there?* You spotted your ceramic mug on the other side of the big cabinet in the farthest corner. You set down the coffee bag beside you on the counter. *I swear Barry and Cisco are going to get an earful for this.* Shuffling your knees over, you stretched an arm to move some mugs while successfully grabbing your mug only for your knee to slip under the weight and pressure of your body at this particular angle. The world slowed until you felt yourself hit something firm, but definitely not the cold and hard ground.

“You know,” HR started, his arms around you held you tightly to himself as he set you down. Your cheeks had flared up. “You could always ask for assistance. If you truly desire it.”

“I didn’t need your help, I had everything perfectly under control,” you retorted in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone. HR quirked a knowing eyebrow at you.

“And I assume the wobbling backwards to almost falling onto the floor was also part of your brilliant plan.”

“Of course.” *It wasn’t, I could have almost split my head open if I landed on the ground oddly, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.* You set down your mug beside the coffee maker.

“You never fail to entertain me, little birdy.” He chuckled at your little pout, reaching for the bag he had dropped. You quizzically looked at him as he handed it over to you. “I… went out to buy you somethings so that you’d be able to freshen up in the morning since-” HR proceeded to ramble on about what had happened yesterday. A bashful smile made its place on your face at his generous thought. *Why are you so sweet?* You opened the bag to find a toothbrush and toothpaste along with other things like facewash and such. *Is that why he got up early in the morning?* You thought, going back to the bathroom to fully freshen up. You wanted to ask, but you did not want to use up your third question even though this one might just be killing you on the inside to know. Meanwhile HR raked through the refrigerator for a decent breakfast to make for the two of you while looking over the ingredients you had pulled out already.

Once you were back to the kitchen, heavenly scents wafted towards you as well as the sounds of low whistling had greeted your ears. The balcony door had been cracked open to let a little air into the breakroom, allowing the heat to dissociate.

“What are you doing?” You obviously knew what he was doing but felt the need to ask as he flipped scrambled eggs on one pan to switch to another for pancake-making. *Did I really take that long to freshen up?* In truth, no, because HR’s quite capable in the kitchen when it comes to breakfast foods seeing as that is what he’d lived on when he lived alone on Earth-19.

“Making breakfast?”

“But I was going to make you breakfast to repay you for your kindness.”

“But you don’t need to repay me, little birdy.” *Well, I mean you can repay me by giving me a kiss.* HR felt the tips of his ears warm up at the intruding thought.

“But I want to,” you poked his upper arm, giving him an innocent-ish look and grin.

“Nope.”

“Please?”

HR took one look at you. “Non.”

You huffed at him before sneaking behind him as he went back to handling the eggs. “Then I guess, I’ll just have to take this.” You grabbed his special coffee bag off the counter and dashed off as if you had super speed. A mockingly evil-ish laugh left your lips as you ran away.

“Hey!” HR quickly turned the stove off and hurried after you. “My special blend! That’s my baby!”

Your messy bun bounced a bit with each quick step you took, the cool ground against your bare feet. Taking one look back, you caught HR glide around the corner and semi-crash into the concrete wall. Giggles left your mouth as your brain directed your feet subconsciously to the direction of his room. Right as you entered the room, you took a few steps forward feeling caged that you had no other exits other than the bathroom. Long arms wrapped around you before you could turn to an exit or duck away from the taller man as you held the coffee bag close to you. You squealed at being caught, a huge grin refusing to leave you face. Your limbs had entangled with his at one point as you struggled against him, causing the both of you to tip backwards instantaneously only to land with a plop on his plush bed.

“I gotcha,” HR breathed out, a smile on his face matching your own. You noted the odd look behind his eyes, a different emotion held in the depths of them. But your heart had leaped at being caught.

*Of course, he caught me eventually, he literally goes out for a run every morning. And works out like a freaking champ… Not that I- He’s told me- Come on (Y/N), don’t be a thirsty hoe.*

“Oh boo,” you whispered, handing the novelist the coffee beans bag to which he set it aside somewhere to be forgotten on the bed. You watched him prop himself up on an arm, his muscle flexing automatically as he gazed down to you. HR reached up to the top of your head. You felt his hands weave through your tresses to gently tug out the hair tie. *Perfection*, he mused to himself as he raked his eyes over every detail of your face as your hair fell into place. HR blinked, realizing that he had said his thought out loud to which you blushed at his comment. The bashfulness returning to your person. But the novelist made no effort to apologize, because he truly did think you were the definition of perfection even with all your flaws and quirks. He wasn’t going to take back the truth in his words.

You pursed your lips, feeling yourself get lost in his eyes as you became conscious of your slow breaths. HR couldn’t help himself but after setting your hair free and tucking a stray strand of hair behind your ear, he had gingerly cupped your face.

“Would you let me ask you a question to fulfill?”

“I thought I was the one to ask the questions.”

“Humor me, would you?” You did with a sly-ish grin and rolled your eyes. “Close your eyes?” he whispered, and you did as you were told. Jitters weaved through your body as butterflies fluttered about as you anticipated what he would do. HR leaned in close, gently planting a kiss to your cheek. *It’s not what I really wanted, but it’s close. I’m not hers to just spontaneously kiss out of nowhere and whenever I please.* He didn’t want to be ambitious in case you wouldn’t reciprocate his feelings. Your eyes snapped open, disappointment jabbing at you a bit. HR watched your eyebrows knit together a bit and panic grasped at his heart. He swallowed thickly as you opened your mouth.

“HR.”

“Yeah?”

“You missed.” HR blinked at you a few times, his brain short-circuiting because he thought you were going to tell him off. Your heartbeat echoed throughout your body, feeling a bit heavy as you boldly spoke once more. “W-well?”

Your words finally sunk in. “I won’t miss this time,” a wry smirk formed on his lips as he snapped out of his mind space, HR leaned close once more with half-lidded eyes, but this time you met him halfway out of sheer curiosity of what his lips would feel like against your own. He kissed you sweetly and slowly, your mouths melding together before pulling away for air. You ran your teeth over your bottom lip, the small action urging HR to go in for more. You met his mouth with the same amount of passion again and again, revitalized from your air break. *Intoxicating*, the novelist thought as he nibbled on your lip, earning him a little gasp from you. He smirked against you, his limbs entangling with yours. Simple kisses becoming longer and longer, and soon your tongues had joined in the mix as they explored together. You had rested your hands on his chest, one hand slightly clutching his shirt as if to bring him impossibly closer to you. HR gently threaded his fingers through your hair which caused a shudder to go down your spine as he held you. His other hand moved to lie on your hip.

When you both finally pulled away, you noted how pink his cheeks and ears were as you were a bit breathless from the kisses. HR noticed the dazed gleam in your eyes, of course he did. Pride and joy swelled inside of him as he watched you with haziness in his own eyes, knowing that he could render you in such a state. You gently grasped his face with both hands after a few seconds, truly examining him with clearer eyes now as you had caught your breath. The pads of your thumbs lightly ran over the slight bags under his eyes. “You didn’t sleep well.”

HR snapped out of his trance, losing the hazy stardust that had resided in his eyes. He quizzically looked at you. “I slept fine.”

“No, HR, I can see the bags. You didn’t sleep well.” HR avoided your gaze, but you held him gingerly in your hands. “What’s wrong?”

“I- It’s nothing, I’m ok. I promise,” you watched him plaster a fake smile onto his face. It hurt your heart that he did that to you. That he wouldn’t want to confide in you about his dreams or nightmares.

“I heard you whimpering in the middle of the night.” Your hands slowly left his face as you moved to sit up against the headboard of the bed. HR gazed up at your from where he laid, electric blues observing you. You looked to your lap before folding your legs to your chest. “You- you were muttering, and you looked like you were in so much pain. I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn’t. So… I tried to calm you down and you eventually did.” You rested your chin on your knees as your arm wrapped around your legs. “I just wanted to help.”

HR moved his eyes from you then to the ceiling of his room. He shut his eyes slowly, guilt biting at him at how sad you sounded, how you saw his pain and tried what you could. Even if he did try to push you away in this instance. “I’ve been having nightmares.” You moved your gaze to see him adjusting himself to sit beside you. You held out a hand for him. He placed his into your own, fingers automatically intertwining together. His eyes met yours and you couldn’t help the small and sympathetic smile on your face. HR sent you a sort of solemn smile as if to say that ‘it is what it is’. He never talked about his nightmares. He’s been told too many times in life that his problems, thoughts, and ideas weren’t really essential in conversations for others to know or care about. He just didn’t want to burden you.

“For my third question before I set you free,” you stammered out, wondering if… “What did you see in your nightmares?”

“Why do you care?” His retaliation took you off guard. You blinked at him. “Why do you care so much? Why do you have such trust in me? I’m just… me.”

“Because you matter, you’re a person too, HR. You deserve to be able to confide in someone. To have someone to breakdown to.” You wanted to hug him. You wanted to scream that you love him, that you’d do anything for him and that he deserves so much better. Bile rose to your throat as words fell out of your mouth. “Why can’t you see that you deserve happiness?” You wanted to go after all the people who’s told him otherwise. All those cruel and cold-hearted individuals who have completely broken this man to the point where he questions his worth. But you remained frozen in your spot, wondering if HR could be as volatile as Harry when pushed to a certain point.

HR’s eyes locked onto yours once more, analyzing the intentions behind your words, the emotions behind your eyes. Searching for ill intent to him as others have. But time after time, you had proven no malicious motive. No sign to want to damage him any further. HR sighed harshly, narrowing his eyes at his lap and squeezing your hand. The silence killed you, but you waited. If not now, then maybe he’d open up later. You didn’t know. You didn’t know if you’d shattered everything that had happened either.

“At first,” HR spoke up before you’d come to a decision to leave him to his space, “my nightmares were mild.” He glanced at you before continuing. “The popular theme of my cowardice, always running away from problem to problem. And then, before I knew it, I would be reliving my mother’s death. Traumatizing as a child, my mind echoing each harsh word that my father had spoken to me.” You pursed your lips, moving your gaze down. You despised his dead father. “The toxic relations that people had forced onto me on Earth-19 in attempts to discredit my father and the family name, especially after I was outed. Everyone just wanted something from me. And they took it, disregarding the collateral damage that they had done to me.”

“And last night?”

“I- I- You-” You furrowed your eyebrows at him. “I was in a sea of blood and carcasses; the acrid smell was stinging and foul.” Like the author he is, he painted the scene of his nightmare vividly, goosebumps running over your skin. “I was the reason you would die.” He whispered softly, not daring to look at you. You scooted closer to him, patting a free hand on his shoulder while he held onto the other as if he was holding on for dear life. He couldn’t tell you about who Gypsy really was. He couldn’t risk jinxing what little he’s built here on his own. “They all ended the same, with a gaping hole in my heart. I was empty and alone.” HR looked helplessly at you with glistening eyes. You wrapped your arms around him tightly, he slowly returned it as he hid face in your chest. “I’m not a coward.”

“I know,” your voice shook as you swallowed thickly. “You’re not alone. You’re not empty.” His breath hiked up at your words. “You don’t need to be smart or a genius physicist to have the heart and courage to protect the ones you love.” HR pulled away with red eyes. You cupped his face and wiped his tears away, unknowingly seating yourself in his lap. “You’re a good man, HR. Don’t let anyone ever take that heart of gold away from you.” His eyes widened a fraction, those words sounding similar to what his mother had told him before she passed away right before his eyes. “I’ll always be here for you. Right by your side, no matter what happens.”

“Thank you,” he sniffled, smiling genuinely at you.

You smiled at him, kissing his cheek before reaching over to pet his floofy hair. He perked up at the adoring affection. Sorta like a puppy. The two of you found yourselves cuddled up in each other’s arms on the bed, exchanging little kisses and small, goofy stories to one another in hopes to lighten up the mood. HR thought back to his conversation with Wallace as you giggled at his pun before resting your head against his chest and shutting your eyes.

*(Flashback)*

“You like (Y/N), don’t you?” Wally has asked the Wells doppelganger as he had seen all the lingering glances and longing looks, he had thrown you since his time here on Earth-1. HR had almost dropped his drumsticks at the Wally’s sudden voice. He had moved his gaze to Wally form watching you work on the other side of the Cortex, fully invested in your coding and algorithms to track

“What? What? No, I- No.”

Wally took a seat beside his unusual friend as he spoke, “Mm, so then care to explain why you’ve been staring at her for the past 15 minutes?” HR looked sheepishly at the young speedster.

“She doesn’t see me like that. I’m a nobody and she’s-” HR took a glimpse at you before looking back to Wally. “Smart, kind, goofy. That cute smile of hers. Devotion and work-ethic. A heart of true gold that I could never compare her to any heavenly being ever.”

“Can’t forget oblivious.” *They’re both oblivious.*

“What?”

“Nothing,” Wally patted HR’s shoulder, an amused smirk on his face. “Just shoot your shot, man. You never know what’ll happen.” The speedster stood up; HR looked at him quizzically with furrowed eyebrows. “And you never know who’ll capture her heart first. You know, if you haven’t already.” Wally had left HR with more to think about than discovering his worth on the team.

*(End Flashback)*

“Will you be my one one one?” Your eyes snapped open as HR started. He decided now would be the best time to head the young speedster’s advice. *Are we really that oblivious… to each other? To all the signs?* You tilted your head a bit and knitted your eyebrows. Clear confusion written on your face.

“You’re ‘one one one’?”

“It’s when one soul, mine, plus one soul, yours, equals one soul. Us.”

The way he softly said ‘Us’, made your mind almost go blank. You swore your heart did a thing and then stopped. “If this is your way of asking me to be your girlfriend, I’ve got to say it’s pretty cute,” you pecked his lips, “and it works.”

“Is that a yes?”

You kissed him once more before nipping back at his lips for earlier, your face happily flushing coral-pink, “Does that answer your third question, oh noble writer?”

“… I may need a reminder or two… maybe more,” HR smiled sheepishly, already leaning in for some more smooches. Before you two can smooch, your stomach grumbled one last time, the bite of hunger hitting you again for the third time that morning. “But first, we need to get some food into you.”

You stuck your tongue out at this teasing, “But I’m cooking this time.”

“Mm, but I’m semi-done so. Checkmate, little birdy.”

“I’ll just have to make you something else then.”

“Is that so? Lead the way, my little songbird.”

***

Wally opened the door to HR’s room, hoping to find HR for today’s secret training session while Barry deals with Savitar. You were apparently MIA, who Wally was also tasked with finding today. A proud smile had crossed the speedster’s face as his eyes landed on you cuddled up to HR in the bed with the covers pulled around you two. You two were sound asleep, your back against HR’s chest whiles his arms held you comfortably. See, HR had muted his phone when the two of you had started your cuddle session so that no one would interrupt the two of you. Just for today, at least.

“That’s my man,” Wally snickered to himself as he turned off the fairy lights and quietly shut the door, leaving the two of you to sleep. *Dorks, I’ll make sure the others don’t bother them too much.*


End file.
